PORTLAND, Maine --
Senior John Hojnoski (West Springfield,
Mass.) netted a hat trick and two assists for five points as
Massachusetts Maritime held off a late rally to notch an 11-10
victory over Maine Maritime in the annual Admiral’s Cup
men’s lacrosse match played Sunday afternoon at Fitzpatrick
Stadium.

The host Buccaneers (2-2) jumped
out to a 3-0 advantage just 5:38 into the contest, but the visiting
Mariners (0-6) came storming back to tie the contest on a goal by
sophomore Nick Betti (Upper Saddle River, N.J.)
with 10:11 remaining in the first half. The two teams traded
scores in a 2:26 span before Hojnoski’s second marker of the
afternoon with 2:53 to play in the second stanza gave Massachusetts
Maritime a 5-4 advantage at the break, and after junior
Cameron Wyman’s (Limerick, Maine) goal 1:42
after intermission enabled Maine Maritime to forge its final tie of
the day, the Buccaneers rattled off five of the next six tallies,
including a pair off the stick of junior Drew
Prowse (Wakefield, Mass.), to take a 10-6 lead with 10:26
to play.

The Mariners closed back to within
a pair at 10-8 on Betti’s goal with 4:06 remaining, but
freshman Sean Staples (Norwell, Mass.) provided a
key insurance marker for the hosts with 2:46 to play, as it proved
to be the game-winner after Betti and junior Nick
Snelling (Colchester, Vt.) scored in a 24 second span to
pull the visitors to within one with 1:15 remaining.
Massachusetts Maritime won the ensuing faceoff, and after the two
teams traded turnovers, the Buccaneers regained possession with 25
seconds to play and ran out the clock to notch their triumph.

Staples joined Hojnoski with a hat
trick in the victory for the Buccaneers, who received two goals and
three assists from Prowse to go with a pair of tallies and a helper
off the stick of sophomore Dylan Freudenberg
(Islip, N.Y.). Freshman Anthony Kurylak
(Rye, N.H.) added a goal as well for the winners, who also received
single assists from senior Jake Lennon (Bourne,
Mass.) and freshman C.J. Hanson (Melrose,
Mass.). Betti finished with a hat trick and an assist for
four points in the setback for Maine Maritime, which also received
a hat trick from senior Thomas Houle (Manchester,
N.H.) and a pair of markers and an assist off the stick of
Snelling. Sophomore Bronson Guimond
(Portland, Maine) also tallied on the day for the Mariners, who
also received an assist from sophomore A.J.
Larabee (Farmington, Maine).

Junior Paul
Painten (Walpole, Mass.) picked up the win in goal for
Massachusetts Maritime with an 11-save effort, while senior
Erik Milles (Bangor, Maine) made 16 stops in net
for Maine Maritime as the Buccaneers outshot the Mariners by a
51-39 margin to claim their second straight Admiral’s Cup and
third in the last four seasons.

Massachusetts Maritime travels to
Salem, Mass. on Wednesday evening to take on Salem State in a
non-league outing that begins at 7:00 p.m., while Maine Maritime
hosts Thomas in a North Atlantic Conference match on Friday evening
in Castine, Maine that also begins at 7:00 p.m.